Shepton Mallet: Disused railway set for cycle path revamp

Part of an old railway line could be given a new lease of life as a cycle route as part of a plan to encourage fewer people to travel by car.

Mendip District Council is planning to regenerate the dismantled line to create a pedestrian and cycling link to Shepton Mallet town centre.

The move is part of council plans to fill-in "missing link" cycle routes to encourage more car-free travel.

A decision is expected to be made on the plans later in the year.

The council has identified 14 routes and is negotiating with landowners in order to complete the a network of pathways dubbed the Somerset Circle, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Shepton Mallet once had a railway station as part of the Cheddar Valley Line, with trains running via the town between Bristol and Witham, but it closed in 1963.

Part of the former line runs alongside the A361 Cannard's Grave Road through a car park near the council's offices and then continues under a bridge towards the Townsend Shopping Park.

The plans would see a short section of cycle path created along this stretch, connecting the Tesco supermarket to the Collett Park green space.

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